7 groups get grants to fight child abuse

TUSCALOOSA | Six Tuscaloosa County agencies and the University of Alabama on Thursday received more than $300,000 in grants to help prevent child abuse and neglect in West Alabama.

By Lydia Seabol AvantStaff Writer

TUSCALOOSA | Six Tuscaloosa County agencies and the University of Alabama on Thursday received more than $300,000 in grants to help prevent child abuse and neglect in West Alabama. The funds are distributed yearly by the Alabama Department of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention. This year, the grant total is about $100,000 more than in 2012, said Greg Smith, deputy director of the department.All of the agencies have received funding before and are doing their part in serving their communities, Smith said. “We’ve had a working relationship (with the agencies) for a long time,” Smith said. Working to prevent child abuse and neglect is a group effort, said Dianne Ambrose, program and executive assistant for Child Abuse Prevention Services.“We are a community team, to help enrich the lives of the children and help them meet their full potential because the children are our future,” she said. As part of the grant, United Cerebral Palsy of West Alabama will get $27,000 for its Hearts Respite program, which helps parents of children with special needs get free time to refresh and relax.Tuscaloosa’s One Place will receive $109,000 for its “No Place Like Home” program. That program helps parents in need with housing or employment while teaching them parenting skills.The Tuscaloosa Family Resource Center will get $25,000 for its Second Step program, which teaches children life skills at local schools. The Parenting Assistance Line will receive $23,800, for its program in answering parenting questions statewide. The assistance line has even received callers from other states or Canada. The Baby TALK program will receive $38,500, which it will use to distribute books and parenting information to parents of infants and young children. Big Brothers Big Sisters of West Alabama will get $30,000 to aid in partnering children with adult role models and making a difference in their lives. “Without the Children’s Trust Fund, our job would be so difficult,” said Zelda Lavender, director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of West Alabama. The University of Alabama will also receive $92,400 for its work to evaluate the county’s programs as part of the grant process. “These programs are going to make a difference in the lives of children,” said Teresa Costanzo, executive director of Tuscaloosa’s One Place. “Prevention is the only way we are going to stop the vicious cycle of child abuse and neglect.”Although the funding will go a long way, the funding level has decreased significantly in recent years and agencies have been cut, Costanzo said during a ceremony on Thursday.In 2008, the same grant funding was $600,000 and went to nine area agencies. In 2007, the grant total was $649,000. “We’ve got to turn this around and be advocates and spokesmen for the Children’s Trust Fund, because we need these funds in the community,” Costanzo said. State Sen. Gerald Allen, R- Cottondale, who was present for Thursday’s grant ceremony, said that funding has been tight since 2008 because of the downturn in the economy. Still, he said funding for programs for children and the elderly should remain a top priority. “It’s always on my mind, that if we can’t take care of our children and our seniors, we’ve lost our focus on what this is all about,” Allen said. “As we try to find ways to trim the fat, we will look at ways to fund your programs in other ways.”State Rep. John Merrill, R-Tuscaloosa, and chairman of the board for the Alabama Department of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention, said children in the community are a primary concern. “You have our commitment from the Tuscaloosa County legislative delegation that we will maintain where we are and try to find other funding sources,” he said.